One of the most widely used methods of medical therapy is the intravenous (IV) infusion of medicaments and/or nutrients into the bloodstream of a patient. Commonly, syringes or IV containers, such as bags, having at least one opening are used to hold the fluid to be infused. Many IV containers can have more than a single opening, to establish both a pathway for extracting fluid from the container and a pathway for injecting fluid into the container. The openings can be formed in the bottom seam of the container or in the side of the container, and the openings are blocked by membranes.
Ordinarily, to establish fluid flow through the opening the membrane is pierced by inserting a so-called IV spike into the opening. The spike is usually connected to a transparent drip chamber for visually verifying fluid flow and flow rate from the container (e.g., a bag), and the drip chamber in turn is connected to an IV line to the patient. Alternatively, a resealable membrane can cover one of the openings, and the resealable membrane can be punctured by the needle of a syringe to inject additional fluid from the syringe into the bag.
It has become apparent, however, that the use of "sharps" such as needles and spikes raises the possibility that a health care worker could inadvertently puncture the container/bag or himself with the needle or spike, and thus increase the risk of transmitting tragic diseases such as AIDS. Thus, the use of needles and other "sharps" should be avoided whenever possible in the health care environment.
Further, even though a spike may not necessarily be considered a "sharp" under all circumstances, the existing membrane arrangements requiring the use of a spike do not permit removal of the spike from the container (bag) until the contents of the bag are completely exhausted. This is because the hole a spike makes in a membrane is typically too large to permit the membrane to reseal. Thus, once inserted, a spike is not usually removed from an IV bag until the bag is empty, which can understandably limit use of the bag and its contents.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a needleless valve for use with IV components. Another object of the present invention is to provide a spikeless/needleless valve in combination with various IV components and configurations. Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a spikeless/needleless IV valve that is easy to use and cost-effective to manufacture.